States With Prompt Mortgage Payments

States With Prompt Mortgage Payments

Daily Real Estate News |
Tuesday, February 23, 2016

North Dakota boasts the highest percentage of residents who pay their mortgages on time. The state came in number one on a list of highest percentage of swiftest mortgage payers at 2.41 percent, followed by Colorado at 3.03 percent; Alaska at 3.24 percent; Minnesota at 3.29 percent; and South Dakota at 3.50 percent.

On the other side of the spectrum, Mississippi has the largest percentage of mortgage holders who were late on their payments at 13 percent. Mississippi was followed by Louisiana at 10.49 percent; New Jersey at 10.38 percent; Alabama at 9.25 percent; and West Virginia at 9.19%.

A higher percentage of borrowers with delinquent payments appears to be a growing trend nationwide.

More home owners nationwide fell behind on their mortgage payments in January as the percentage of delinquent borrowers rose to 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent in December (or 3.4 million properties), according to a new report released by Black Knight Financial Services. Still, the percentage is down from 5.5 percent a year ago. Prior to the housing crisis, the delinquency rate generally averaged in the 2 percent to 3 percent range.

Black Knight took a look at payments that were 30 days or more late for properties that were not in foreclosure.

“If delinquencies keep going up, eventually you’ll see an uptick in foreclosures,” says Eric Tyson, co-author of “Mortgages for Dummies.”

But the uptick in delinquencies in January shouldn’t cause too much alarm – yet.

“It’s not like we’re in 2007,” says Umit Gurun, an accounting and finance professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. “I don’t think there’s something bad going on.”